Our Shoppe in West Deptford
Where does one store 130,000 old magazines? This may conjure an image of a vast, dark, cluttered warehouse, but in fact our shop is much more reminiscent of a library or museum.
How massive is a collection of 130,000 magazines? Picture 1,600 milk crates. If the 1,600 milk crates were piled 7 high and placed in single file, the line of milk crates would stretch the length of a football field!
In 2012 the 26 tons of magazines in their 1,600 milk crates were moved to their current location in West Deptford Township, New Jersey – about 15 minutes from the Philadelphia area bridges. Roughly 60,000 magazines are sorted by year and month from 1900 to 1990 for easy accessibility. Over 500 framed magazine covers adorn the walls of two suites while the third suite is a 1,200 square foot floor to ceiling, wall to wall scrapbook of the 20th century. It’s not a stroll down memory lane; it’s a hundred yard dash!
For a virtual tour, please check out this amazing piece by Maddie Orton featured on NJTV in August 2015. You’ll see why “Memories R Us”!
If you would like to visit, please contact us in advance and let us know the date and time you plan to arrive. Prepare to spend some memorable time – this is more of a guided tour than a quick-stop shopping experience!
VINTAGE MAGAZINE SHOPPE PRESS RELEASE
In the age of the paperless society, how would you like to “go back to the future” and travel through the entire 20th century surrounded by over 100,000 Life, Time, and Saturday Evening Post magazines?
Owner Francis Di Bacco has amassed and carefully preserved his amazing collection of these magazines over the past thirty years. This impressive 26-ton treasure trove of “hands on” history can now be seen and experienced only at the new Vintage Magazine Shoppe in Paulsboro, NJ.
Fran passionately feels that these historic gems have been overlooked and may soon be lost forever. Despite the work of many brilliant artists and illustrators who graced the covers and filled the pages with colorful ads, amazing photos that captivated the world, and brilliant articles written by the Ernest Hemmingways and F. Scott Fitzgeralds of our time, most people have no idea about these “sunken” treasures.
The time tunnel tour begins with a panoramic view of over 400 framed magazines adorning the lobby walls. Riveting photos from the likes of Sinatra, JFK, MLK, Marilyn, Liz Taylor, Jackie O. and Jackie Robinson seem to have a hypnotic effect as you make eye contact with them.
During every memory jogging moment you’ll understand why the weekly news magazine was labeled “the quintessential time capsule.”
Like watching an incredible fireworks display, the big bang is at the end and when you walk into a 1200-square foot suite that is literally a floor to ceiling, wall to wall scrapbook of the 20th century. Your mental and visual senses will have trouble absorbing all that there is to see and your mind will go into overload as it tries to process more memories than it can handle. The suite is a tribute to all of the American artists of the 20th century whether they be illustrators or performing artists in the entertainment or sports world.
Just to expand briefly on the brilliant illustrators and artists represented in this collection, it’s important to note that up until the 1950’s, almost everything was drawn by hand – including magazine covers, advertisements, book covers, matchbook covers, stamps, movie posters, sheet music, fruit labels, baseball cards, and comic books inside and out. You will see all these types of art and more displayed at the Vintage Magazine Shoppe.
This is not a stroll down memory lane – it’s a 100 yard dash! And while you’re taking in all the nostalgia, oldies from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s are blaring from an incredible sound system to put you “in the mood”. So, in essence you are seeing, touching, smelling and hearing the past ….. Simply put, Memories ‘R’ Us.